Sidewalk bumper



sept. s, 1936. n w. KUNDEL 2,054,037

SIDEWALK BUMPER Filed Sept. 28 1935 william Kunde@ l ATTORN Patented Sept. 8, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SIDEWALK BUMPER Application September 28, 1935, Serial No. 42,707

Claims.

This invention relates to sidewalk bumpers and has for an object an improved construction wherein the usual or preferred shape or any other shape may be produced and at "the same time a permanent resiliency is provided.

An object of the invention is to provide a bumper having the usual or any preferred shape and resilient means arranged within the outer covering or casing which will not become packed or compressed during use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sidewalk bumper wherein is provided a filling including a plurality of rubber springs distributed to take all or substantially all of the strain when the bumper is in use.

Another object, more specifically, is to provide a sidewalk bumper wherein is provided a plurality of rubber springs held in their relatively correct positions by a connecting frame or spider of metal.

In the accompanying drawing- Figure 1 is a top plan view of a sidewalk bumper disclosing an embodiment of the invention, part of the outer casing being broken away and certain parts being shown in section for better illustrating the construction;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view through Figure 1 on line 2 2, the same being on an enlarged scale;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the spring sections shown in Figure 2.

Referring to the accompanying drawing by numerals, I indicates an outer casing of any desired material, as, for instance, a rope which has been woven to form an outer protecting shell. Suitable rope handles 2 and 3 are inserted in the casing I in any desired manner, as, for instance, by splicing a rope and causing certain parts of the casing I to overlap the same during the formation of the casing. Arranged in the casing I is a flexible textile fabric covering 4 held together by suitable stitchings 5 and 6. The covering 4 encloses a lling which may include a supply of cork 'I though kapok or other filling material may be used. Distributed at convenient and desirable places in the covering are the various springs 8. These springs are all preferably identical and each spring is formed in two sections, namely, sections 8 and 8". Each section has a bore 9 formed in a tubular upstanding part IIJ which merges into an enlargement Il and this enlargement in turn merges into a greater enlargement I2 which fits atwise against the inner surface of covering 4. An alining pin I3, preferably of metal, holds the respective sections 8 and.8" in alinement as shown in Figure 2. The respective pins I3 preferably taper slightly from the center so that substantially the same amount of pin will project into each of the spring sections. The respective bores S are suiciently long to not only accommodate the pins I3 but provide an ample space in each end thereof so that when a weight is brought to bear on one or more of the springs, said weight will be supported by the springs and not by the pin. This pin is very desirable in that it extends through the frame or spider I4 which is preferably of flexible metal as indicated in Figures 1 and 2. The frame or spider I4 is made of a plurality of strips of resilient metal riveted together. This will hold the various springs in a desired group, as, for instance, the group shown in Figure 1. It will be evident however, that the group could be made in a circle or a square instead of rectangular; also it is evident that more or less spring should be used in a given sized bumper and that the bumpers may of course be made of many sizes. When the parts are arranged, for instance as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the device is ready for use and any object dropped thereon will be cushioned and at the same time the packing within the bumper will not be compressed permanently as the rubber springs will return the various parts to their former position when the weight has been removed. The bumper is adapted to be used at any desired place, but usually on pavements whereby wagons, trucks and the like may have heavy objects removed therefrom and landed on the pavement. The bumper may be positioned so as to receive the impact of the package as it drops to the pavement. This will not only protect the article landed, but will protect the pavement as well. As above intimated, the bumper may be used in many other places than sidewalks as, for instance, as bumpers on tugs or other boats.

In addition to being used for the purposes just described, the spring structure is adapted to be used for many other purposes, as, for instance, in the upholstery industry. A single unit or a plurality of units may be used in chairs, mattresses, seat members, sofas, or the like, and the functioning of the springs or spring structures will be the same. When using the springs for upholstery of sidewalk bumpers they are preferably made softer and more resilient; also, they are preferably made smaller. Any desired number of individual units as shown in Figure 3 may be used in a given chair or other article of furniture and the spider or frame I4 may be enlarged or restricted accordingly.

I claim:-

l. A sidewalk bumper comprising a rope casing, a pair of rope handles connected to said casing, a cover arranged interiorly of said casing, a packing of fairly loose material arranged in said covering and a plurality of rubber springs surrounded by said filling and extending from the top to bottom of said covering, said springs being spaced apart so as to receive the impact of an article dropped on the bumper.

2. A sidewalk bumper including a rope casing, a. cover arranged interiorly of said casing, a packing of fairly loose material arranged in said covering, a plurality of rubber springs surrounded by said lling, and means for holding said springs spaced apart, each of said springs extending from the top to the bottom of said cover and formed with an enlarged head at each end and a reduced central portion.

3. A sidewalk bumper including a casing, a plurality of springs arranged in the casing extending from the upper part of the casing to the lower part, each of said springs being formed in two sections, each section having a tubular stem and enlarged head, a pin for each spring fitting in the tubular part for causing said section to be alined, and a retaining spider engaging said pins for holding respective springs in spaced relation.

4. A spring structure of the character described comprising a plurality of members, each member being formed in two sections and each section having tubular stem and enlarged head, a pin for each pair of sections tting into the tubular part thereof for causing said section to be alined and a retaining spider engaging said pins forholding the respective spring members in spaced relation.

5. A sidewalk bumper including a casing, a plurality` of double headed rubber springs extending from the top to the bottom thereof, a

centrally positioned spider engaging said springs 20 for holding them in spaced relation, and a cork filling for said casing surrounding said springs.

WILLIAM KUNDEL. 

